2023 Volume 69 Issue 3 Pages 153-159
We herein report a case series of 18 cochlear implant users who underwent magnet resonance imaging (MRI). The loci of imaging were head/neck (9 cases), thoracic vertebrae (2 cases), shoulder (1 case), liver (1 case), lower vertebrae (2 cases), whole vertebrae (1 case), and pelvis (2 cases). Nine cases had MRI images that contains artifacts caused by the implanted device. Four cases experienced device-related, MRI-derived complications, and one of them underwent magnet replacement surgery. Among the different MRI sequences, diffusion-weighted images and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps were more negatively influenced by the magnet than T1- or T2-weighted or MR angiography images. Understanding the artifact size and affected structures when MRI is performed on cochlear implant users is useful for determining the indications of MRI and magnet removal surgery, not merely for otolaryngologists but for any healthcare professionals.
